Qualifier Cetkovska continues run to New Haven Open final

Updated 11:06 pm, Friday, August 26, 2011

Petra Cetkovska takes on No. 2 seed Li Na during during semifinal action at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

Petra Cetkovska takes on No. 2 seed Li Na during during semifinal action at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

Photo: Christian Abraham

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No. 2 seed Li Na takes on Petra Cetkovska during during semifinal action at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

No. 2 seed Li Na takes on Petra Cetkovska during during semifinal action at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

Photo: Christian Abraham

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A tired Petra Cetkovska walks to the net to shake hands with Li Na after winning the semifinal match at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

A tired Petra Cetkovska walks to the net to shake hands with Li Na after winning the semifinal match at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

Photo: Christian Abraham

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No. 2 seed Li Na, right, shakes hands with Petra Cetkovska wh won the semifinal match at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

No. 2 seed Li Na, right, shakes hands with Petra Cetkovska wh won the semifinal match at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

Photo: Christian Abraham

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No. 2 seed Li Na takes on Petra Cetkovska during during semifinal action at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

No. 2 seed Li Na takes on Petra Cetkovska during during semifinal action at the New Haven Open at Yale tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn. 0n Friday August 26, 2011.

Photo: Christian Abraham

Qualifier Cetkovska continues run to New Haven Open final

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NEW HAVEN -- There was a time when Petra Cetkovska seemed poised to begin her ascent to the top tier of the WTA tour. She reached the fourth round of the French Open and subsequently soared into the Top 50 for the first time, rising to No. 49 June 16, 2008.

The success was something Cetkovska found she was unable to handle. She was fighting with herself, panicking with the high expectations and placing too much pressure on herself to succeed.

At this point, though, that stage of her career seems so long ago. Cetkovska, with the help of her coach," Stephane Charret, has learned a great deal about the mental aspect of the game. Her marked growth has been on display this week at the New Haven Open at Yale. She moved within one win of a championship Friday with a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (11-9) win over seventh-ranked and second-seeded Li Na in the semifinals before 3,512 at the Connecticut Tennis Center.

"These kind of things you can't really figure out on your own,'' Cetkovska said. "And I'm very lucky to work with my coach. We've been really talking a lot together about a lot of things. It took me quite a lot of time, but I understood some things and that's helped me a lot.''

Cetkovska, a tournament qualifier who is ranked a career-high 40th in the world, has defeated 13th-ranked and fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, ninth-ranked and fourth-seeded Marion Bartoli and Li during her path to the final. She has had to won seven matches to advance to this point.

Cetkovska will meet top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the final today at 1 p.m. Cetkovska is seeking her first career WTA singles title.

Cetkovska, who improved to 4-2 in her career against Top 10 players, dominated the first set and held a 3-1 lead in the second set. She would serve for the match for the first time, leading 5-4 in the third. But she double faulted before ultimately losing the game.

Cetkovska also had match point in the tiebreaker at 6-5, 7-6 and 9-8. Again, she was unable to finish Li.

"At first I got really nervous,'' Cetkovska said. "I was really stressed. It was really difficult for me to control my movements. The hands, the legs, everything was slowed down. But I'm really happy in the end that I could fight with my emotions and be able to win this match.''

Cetkovska did manage to stave off Li's only match point at 8-7 in the tiebreaker. Tied 9-9, Cetkovska was able to capitalize on two straight unforced errors by Li to win the match. She scored the final point on Li's service.

Cetkovska broke Li seven times in the match, including four games in third set, and won seven points during the tiebreaker on Li's service.

Cetkovska has played seven matches in a span of eight days after initially needing to win three matches just to earn a spot in the main draw. One of the most significant matches of her career will take place today as she stands on the threshold of claiming a championship for the first time on tour.

"It would mean a lot,'' Cetkovska said. "(But) it's not done. There's still one match to play. I will do my best.''